This was the official moment of finality, a 494-word news release sent out by the Bears at 4:36 p.m. Thursday. The subject line was momentous even if it was far from surprising.

BEARS RELEASE QB JAY CUTLER.

That's it. And that's all. The end of an era.

And while the Bears' written send-off was respectful — with general manager Ryan Pace praising his toughness and Chairman George McCaskey lauding his impact off the field and coach John Fox wishing him "nothing but success" — the significance was impossible to skirt around.

Jay Cutler is no longer a Bear, now on his own to figure out where his football journey takes him next.

Two thousand, eight hundred, ninety-nine days after then-GM Jerry Angelo traded for him, sending three draft picks plus Kyle Orton to the Broncos, Cutler's time with the organization expired.

The move proved significant, if not surprising, signaling a new era ahead for the Bears.

Photos of former Bears quarterback Jay Cutler.

After eight seasons, Cutler leaves as the franchise's all-time leader in completions, completion percentage, passing yards, touchdown passes and passer rating. He also leaves with just one playoff victory.

Within all that, he leaves behind a passionate debate that never seemed to cease, in the conversation as the best quarterback the Bears have ever had yet widely hailed as their most disappointing.

Who knows where Cutler will head next or whether he'll ever break through the electric fence that seemed to restrict a major breakthrough. What is now certain is that the Bears are moving in a new direction at their most important position while filing away a complicated epilogue on the quarterback who started more regular-season games (102) for them than any other.

Chicago hope

Rewind six years, to the first drive of Cutler's first playoff game in Chicago. This was a moment of hope. On third-and-2 from the Bears' 42, Cutler took a seven-step drop, calmly shuffled left in the pocket and bombed a beautiful spiral, up the seam and through the Soldier Field snow flurries, to tight end Greg Olsen.

It was the start of a dominant afternoon, one in which Cutler threw for two touchdowns and ran in two others. The Bears built a 28-0 lead over the Seahawks early in the third quarter and coasted to a 35-24 victory. Cutler didn't turn the ball over, posted a 111.3 rating and pushed the Bears into the NFC championship game.

"Same thing I've seen every game he's been out there," coach Lovie Smith said afterward. "No one prepares harder than Jay."

This was exactly what Angelo had in mind 21 months earlier. He saw an ultra-talented young quarterback who could provide needed offensive firepower. Angelo believed Cutler would help support an established defense that already had proved its Super Bowl potential.

One could watch that tape from that winter afternoon six years ago and be certain the Bears' window of opportunity was wide open, that they were on the verge of a prolonged run of success, equipped to be a perennial postseason threat.

Yet somehow, that would turn out to be Cutler's one and only playoff victory with the Bears. That was more than six years ago.

The following week, Cutler left the conference championship game with a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee, sat glumly on the sideline in his massive Bears parka and witnessed a 21-14 upset by the Packers.

Season-ending. Soul-crushing. Reputation-damaging.

The only way Cutler was ever going to wipe that stain completely from his scouting report would have been to lead the Bears back to another NFC title game. He never did.

Consider it a moment of weakness. Or at least one of superfluous optimism.

On the second day of January 2014, then-Bears general manager Phil Emery sat at a dais in the Halas Hall press room, appearing smitten. Emery had just finalized a seven-year contract extension for Cutler — $126.7 million overall, $54 million guaranteed. And he was convinced the Bears had a franchise quarterback who would successfully march the franchise into the 2020s.

During the 2013 season, Emery asserted, "Jay showed us right from the beginning that he can be a key player in terms of a player being the reason you win."

In 2013, Cutler's only contract year with the Bears, he had been both brilliant and inconsistent. He opened the season with three straight victories, the first two punctuated by game-winning drives late in the fourth quarter. His toughness in rallying through serious injuries — first a torn groin, later a severely sprained ankle — also resonated.

"He showed me he bounces back like a champion," Emery proclaimed.

Even with 15 turnovers in 11 starts, Cutler's 89.2 rating for the season was then a career best. And with the aid of Josh McCown's five starts and two relief appearances, the Bears led the NFC in points (445) and set a single-season franchise record for total yards (6,109).

Still, they finished that season with two crushing losses — a 54-11 blowout in Philadelphia and a 33-28 home loss to the Packers that cost them the NFC North title. Somehow, the Bears' 8-8 record seemed fitting, a perfect symbol of mediocrity.

Emery, though, felt compelled to reward Cutler, effectively locking the quarterback into the plans for three more seasons. In exhaustive detail, Emery explained his logic. He hailed Cutler's leadership and ability to handle pressure. He noted "a transformation in (Cutler's) demeanor." He highlighted Cutler's third-down passing numbers and fourth-quarter rating.

Coach Marc Trestman chimed in, endorsing Cutler as a player who could "carry the weight of a team on his shoulders."

"Playing this position, it's not (only) about skill set," Trestman said. "You have to have the mental and physical toughness to be able to be at your best when everything is caving in around you. And I think Jay has clearly shown he can do that."

To explain the long-term extension, Emery emphasized the Bears' 3-0 start in 2013 more than their 8-8 finish. He also praised Cutler for a 38-31 win over the Browns in Week 16, commending the way the quarterback overcame two ugly first-half interceptions to rescue the Bears.

The fine print, of course, was that Cutler had created the adversity he overcame. And ultimately the Bears had only defeated the Browns, who finished that season 4-12 and in the AFC North cellar.

As signature wins go, perhaps that should have been kept in better context.

Much pain, no gain

So why did a separation from Cutler take so long?

Revisit this moment of ineptitude. Week 5 of 2010. Third-and-goal, inside the Panthers' 1. Cutler was out for the afternoon, recovering from a concussion he suffered during a nine-sack first half against the Giants a week earlier. Thus, Todd Collins was under center. And on a seemingly routine third-and-goal play, the journeyman reached the top of a seven-step drop, double-clutched, then shot-put a throw right into the neck of Panthers defensive tackle Ed Johnson.

Picked off.

That was the first of four brutal Collins interceptions that day. And that came during a 23-6 Bears win, one of only seven victories since 2009 that have come without Cutler starting. Collins' performance was undeniably abysmal that afternoon. And yet it's rivaled or topped by several other blunder-filled backup efforts.

Or what about the dig-your-eyeballs-out loss to the Chiefs in December 2011? That was a 10-3 debacle that saw Caleb Hanie throw three picks, get sacked seven times and post a rating of 23.8. That was the second of four consecutive Bears losses with Hanie starting.

Heck, the Bears' most recent loss — 38-10 to the Vikings on New Year's Day — came accented with three Matt Barkley turnovers, three of 14 giveaways by Barkley in his six starts.

Those are all sobering reminders of the scarcity of quality quarterback play. No matter how inconsistent or frustrating Cutler's performance was, the alternatives often proved more maddening.

Over eight seasons in Chicago, Cutler missed 26 starts due to injury or benching. In his place, Collins, Hanie, Jason Campbell, Josh McCown, Clausen, Brian Hoyer and Barkley combined to lose 19 of those games.

As easy as it might have seemed to pull the plug on the Cutler era, the alternatives often proved scary.

Now what?

So now comes the moment of truth for the Bears and a success-starved fan base. General manager Ryan Pace has finalized the Cutler divorce, a move that prompted an expected collision of celebration and dread Thursday.

Cutler's most strident supporters will still emphasize his arm strength, the dazzling throws and big plays, believers that he can lead a Super Bowl contender.

His harshest critics never could get past his flaws — the inexcusable turnovers and questionable decisions and, yes, even that woebegone countenance, which was too often misinterpreted as indifference.

While Cutler's talent was rarely questioned, his leadership ability frequently was — by fans, teammates and coaches alike.

Pace may never publicly acknowledge the energy void he felt from his starting quarterback the last two seasons. But now he's determined to find a leader who can quickly infuse an offense and an entire team with confidence and passion.

So the Bears GM has pressed forward with his big opportunity to hand-select Cutler's successor.

Pace took his first big swing with the signing of free agent Mike Glennon. The Bears will also continue to comb this year's draft class for other potential long-term answers.

Who will emerge as the next franchise quarterback? It's a question that comes with great pressure and no clear path.

"Trust me," Pace said in January, "I understand the magnitude of that decision going forward. That's a critical, critical decision for me and this whole building. ... And it's critical we get that right."

Angelo and Emery would agree. So, too, would the three head coaches and six offensive coordinators who supervised Cutler with the Bears.

Promise cannot go unfulfilled for that long anymore. With Thursday's release, the Jay Cutler era ended with more last-place finishes (three) than division championships (one).

It ended with an equal number of losses in Cutler starts as wins. It ended with only one long-forgotten playoff victory and new demands that the Bears get things right at quarterback. And soon.

A version of this article appeared in print on March 12, 2017, in the Sports section of the Chicago Tribune with the headline "After 8 seasons, enigmatic QB's legacy can be summed up in 1 word: mediocrity" —
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